It's Ten o'Clock
by bluestarroyalty
Summary: Yugi worries about his sanity when he seemingly begins to have hallucinations. Rated T for violence and language. Rating might change.
1. Chapter 1

_Yugioh_ and all related characters are not mine _The Ten o'Clock People_ is the property of Stephen King. No copyright infringement is intended, no profit is being made.

This story and all original characters are the property of the author.

**Warning**: This story contains some violence and graphic imagery that may upset some people. Language warning. **Rated PG-13.**

I swear to God, I don't know where this came from.I read this book soo long ago and today I was at this book store and I saw it.! So I was like okay I have to write a Yugioh story and the book. This does not have any duel monsters in it. Its only the book. This is what I remember from the book and some of my own stuff, so if you spot any errors please let me know!! :)

Alright enjoy! R&R!!!!

________

_"If you screw up, it's probably gonna get you killed._"

- Stephen King's** The Ten o'Clock People**

________

**Chapter 1**

________

It happened for the first time just outside the mall.

It was a great day, warm and bright and the ideal spring day. Yugi was looking forward to trying a little surfing and Seth had refused to go anywhere near the ocean until the water got above freezing.

Yeah, well, so anyway, it was a warm day. Not late, but no longer morning, a little before noon at the latest and Yugi had spent the last hour inside the store where Seth works. After a good deal of small talk, gossip and general time-wasting, he'd finally left to make his way back to the mansion. Yami would flip if he was late.

_That_ was when it happened.

He'd just stepped outside and was making his way to his bike, wishing he'd brought his rollerblades instead. The helmet strap was twisted around his wrist and the helmet bounced off his leg every few steps. He wasn't paying all that much attention to where he was going: mistake number one.

A young woman, walking in the opposite direction, passed him, and the helmet banged against her hip. She made a startled sound and jumped at the contact.

"Oh, sorry about that," Yugi began, finally paying attention to his surroundings. He gave the woman an apologetic glance… and froze.

"That's all right," she assured him. "No harm done."

Only _she_ didn't say that.

It was funny, like film over film, maybe, or a ghost image on the TV superimposing one image over another. He could see the professional young woman, on the short side, dark blond hair, blue eyes, bright smile…

But then he could see the rest of it, too.

It was internal organs, was the first thought that Yugi had. Like the fleshy part that you see when you cut into something. Sci-fi aliens and stuff. Wrinkled and bloated and rotted. And it was in the same place as the woman.

No. It _was_ the woman.

Yugi offered her a smile, knowing he probably looked more sick than apologetic and turned away, not sure what exactly he had seen, or why or how, but suddenly consumed by the feeling that he had to get out of there - _now_ - before she/it realized there was something wrong in his reaction. God help him, he knew without knowing that there was something seriously wrong with everything here and he had to get out of there before he gave something away.

Give what away?

Didn't matter, just go, get out, now! His instincts were screaming at him, even as a saner, more rational part of his mind insisted that he calm down. Freaking out wouldn't do him any good.

He forced himself to keep walking at the same easy pace, refusing to look back and see if she was watching him. If she wasn't then he didn't need to worry but if she was and he turned around it would only make her more suspicious.

He ran a shaky hand through his hair, brushing it back and away from his face before pulling on the helmet and tightening the strap beneath his chin. Moving with deliberate caution he slung one leg over the bike and started peddling. Under the guise of checking traffic, he risked a glance in the direction the woman/thing had gone. No sign of her. 'She probably stepped into one of the stores. Or a car.' He shook his head slightly. 'Face it, man, you are seriously wacking out here.'

One thing was for sure. He wasn't going to feel safe until he got back to the mansion. With a sudden surge of anger at his own incomprehensible reactions to the woman, he sped out of the mall.

****

By the time he'd returned to the home he'd calmed down somewhat. He parked the bike and stashed the helmet before heading for the gym. It was empty, as usual this time of day. Seto and Yami usually worked out in the mornings, and Duke preferred late night. Tea, Tristan and Joey avoided it whenever possible. Yugi usually worked out with Yami. But when he wanted to be alone, to work things out in his head, he sometimes came here. The physical activity was pretty much rote behavior, and Yugi could turn off all outside concentration and just worry about what was worrying him, without anything from the outside world interfering. It usually worked, and he hoped today would be no different.

He started right out; treadmill, stairmaster, and stationary bike, his mind working over the encounter in the mall the entire time.

It wasn't, Yugi finally decided, his weird reaction to the woman that had bothered him. His line of work called for a lot of things and he'd gotten pretty good at trusting his instincts. There were some people he just had gut feelings about right from the start. Sometimes he was right, sometimes he wasn't.

No, it wasn't the reaction. It was the _reason_ for the reaction - or more importantly, the lack thereof. There was no reason why he should have reacted the way he did. Why he should have seen what he did.

He wasn't crazy.

So what?

He reached twenty miles on the stationary bike and finally stopped. He was tired, he realized for the first time, so worn out that he wondered how he'd managed to get twenty miles in. He groaned, knowing he'd feel terrible the next day, and leaned forward to rest his head against his arms, folded over the handle of the bike.

"You're not going to be able to move tomorrow." Yami's amused, and concerned, voice pierced through the exhausted haze he'd become enveloped in. "Really, you trying to drop a few pounds for swimsuit season or something?"

Yugi didn't bother lifting his head - didn't honestly think he could - but he smiled tiredly and considered responding. The effort it took just to keep his thoughts together convinced him that actually speaking was temporarily beyond his abilities, so he didn't bother.

A hand gripped his shoulder even as another one cupped the side of his face and encouraged him to raise his head. He was pretty sure he did, somewhat, anyway, because the next thing he knew Yami was gazing down at him with the patented concern that he did so well. "Yugi? Come on, stay awake long enough to get back to your room, okay?"

"Wing?" Yugi surprised himself by getting that word out. Maybe he could get a few more while he was at it. "Something's not right… shouldn't be this tired." His eyes drifted shut and only Yami kept him from falling to the floor.

As if from far away he heard Yami curse as he suddenly found himself supporting Yugi's full weight. But suddenly it occurred to Yugi that he could stop worrying about whatever it was he'd seen because Yami was here and he'd take care of whatever it was. By the time he finished the thought he was sound asleep.

END OF CHAPTER 1

AuthorsNote: Well what did you guys think? Should I continue??? I won't continue till I get atleast 3 reviews. Okay? :) See Ya!


	2. Chapter 2

AuthorsNote: Thanks for the reviews Everyone! Your the best as always!! Keep them coming :) and Red Eyes your reviews make me laugh XD I love them! Enjoy!!

**Chapter 2  
___________**

"How bad is it, Moira?"

Moira Richardson flicked the ashes off the end of her cigarette and raised it to her mouth for a deep pull before replying. "Depends on your description of bad, I suppose," she finally said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. "First of all, we were right. There _are _batmen in Domino City. Not many, as of yet, but enough to cause worry."

"Do you have any numbers for us?" Cam Stevens leaned against the wall and studied the woman before him. She wasn't young anymore, God knew he wasn't either, but she was still an attractive woman. Tall, blonde, thin, soft in all the right places and in excellent shape, she still had the power to turn most heads when she wanted to. She looked tired though, tired in a way that had nothing to do with her age. He had known Moira for years, been married to her for almost as long. He knew he could trust her with his life, had trusted her with just that, in fact, ever since that horrible day in Boston when he'd left his former life behind him forever. But Moira had worked in Credit Assistance at The First Mercantile Bank of Boston when she'd been rudely introduced to the batmen, and she'd become a renegade resistance fighter only because there was no way she could return to her normal life. She didn't like the running or the fighting and she hated the killing; she would like nothing better than to return to the real world. She wasn't meant to be a killer and there were times when Cam considered putting her on the sidelines permanently. But when it came down to the bare facts, she'd held up for more than eight years and he wasn't able to simply dismiss that.

Moira nodded. "Nothing concrete,you understand. I took a little tour of the police precincts and city hall; congratulate Shawn on the faked credentials, by the way. I only spotted twelve of them the entire time.

"I honestly think they haven't settled in yet." She stubbed out her cigarette in one of the ever-present ashtrays and reached for another. "There's still a lot of work to be done. I haven't checked the schools yet, especially."

"Estimate?" Alanna demanded from the doorway.

"Maybe a hundred, altogether."

"Probably the smallest group we've found in a city this size," Cam remarked. "That little tourist town up in Washington State had more than that."

"Like I said," Moira answered. "They give all the signs of being halfway settled. For some reason, it looks like they started to move into this town, then suddenly stopped the buildup."

Cam looked at her with wide eyes. "Something that scares the batmen? Do you have any idea what it is?"

"Cam, I don't know if they're scared or-"

"Something's changed?" Cam asked, already resigned to the knowledge that it had. Alanna had that tone to her voice.

"Early this morning one of my men - you remember Tomas Andreiovich? - spotted a new batman this morning. He was following her, hoping to get a clue to who she was, when she literally bumped into a boy at the Mall. She didn't so much as blink, according to Tomas, but the boy came within a hairsbreadth of a heart attack. Tomas thinks he saw her for what she was."

"The boy can see the batmen?" Cam asked. "They've been here for a year, Alanna. Why haven't we seen any sign before this?"

Alanna shrugged. "Then maybe the one at the Mall was like us. Ten o'clock."

"No way," Cam objected. "He's a kid. He's probably never touched a cigarette in his life."

Alanna exhaled exasperatedly. "What matters at this point is that he _saw_ it. Frankly, I don't care how, or why or how often. If this is real, and not just a fluke, it may explain why the batmen have been holding off."

Neither Alanna nor Cam could counter that. " I want to assign people to watch this boy full time to see what the deal is. One way or another, we need to understand this if we're going to keep up with the batmen. I'll assign people tonight. Has either of you heard from Brandon lately?"

****

It was fairly late the next morning when Yugi finally awoke. He blinked at the clock and groaned, turning to bury his head back in the pillow.

It was almost ten, he realized with amazement. And it couldn't have been more than four at the latest when he crashed in the gym. God, he'd been asleep for almost eighteen hours. He hadn't worked himself _that _hard. It was the same routine he did every time he needed time away to think.

One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to get anything solved lying in bed. His body rebelled at the thought of moving, but something was wrong and Yugi wanted to find out what and why.

And he wanted to tell Yami about what he'd seen.

Without too much effort he managed to stand and make his way to the doorway. The hall was empty - good thing, because he suspected he looked terrible. A quick shower helped wake him up and worked some of the lingering stiffness out of his muscles. He let the water run long after he'd rinsed the soap and shampoo away, enjoying the relaxing feeling of the hot water and steam.

Finally, though, he turned off the water and toweled off, dressed quickly in jeans and an oversized t-shirt and ventured out into the hallway, feeling distinctly more presentable.

About halfway to the main room, he realized he was starving and changed course toward the kitchen. Joey and Tea were both already there and they each looked up in surprise upon seeing him. "Well, well," Joey smirked. "It awakens."

Yugi snorted. "Whatever."

"What happened?" Tea asked, turning in her seat to watch him as he walked by. "All Yami said was that you collapsed in the gym."

"I don't know," Yugi said absently. He pulled the refrigerator door open and studied the contents. "Must've worn myself out, I guess."

"Uh-huh." Joey said skeptically.

Yugi shrugged, not really believing it himself. "I _did_ skip lunch yesterday."

"Uh-huh."

"Where did the last of the V8 go?"

Tea grimaced. "How can you drink that stuff? It's a tomato in a can!"

"I know, and it really isn't that good," Yugi replied off-handedly. "But it drives Yami nuts trying to figure out who keeps drinking it."

Yugi gave up on finding anything appealing and settled for a bottle of Very Fine Fruit Punch and a bag of grapes then took a seat at the table.

"Hey, where's Yami?" Yugi asked.

Tea reached over and snatched a handful of grapes. "Still asleep probably. You had us pretty worried, you know."

Joey agreed. "Seto checked you out and couldn't find anything wrong. The only thing he could think of was exhaustion, but there weren't any signs of that, either. Besides, I know for a fact you got at least thirteen hours of sleep that night," he added.

With a grimace, Yugi finished off the last of his drink and pushed the grapes toward Tea. "Gonna go wake him up, then."

Joey caught the sleeve of his shirt as he stood. "Hey, hey. Hold up, Yug. After what happened yesterday, shouldn't you grab something a little more substantial for breakfast?"

Yugi shook his head. "I'm fine, Joey," he said, carefully removing Joey's hand from his arm and standing. "I don't know what happened yesterday, but I'm fine now. Chill, okay? Besides, if there's anything worth worrying about, Yami'll do it for you."

Tea laughed into her hot chocolate.

Joey sighed and waved his hand dismissively. "Go away. I'm giving up. Go torment Yami. But if you pass out, you'd better tell him it was your fault."

End Of Chapter 2

AuthorsNote: As usual R&R!! :D


	3. Chapter 3

AuthorsNote:  
So yeah enjoy :)

**Chapter 3  
_________**

There was no answer from Yami when Yugi knocked, so he palmed open the door and poked his head in to see if Yami was still there. "Yami?"

Yami sat at the edge of his bed, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, toweling his hair dry. He looked up and smiled at his aibou. "Hey, welcome back. You feeling better?"

Yugi shrugged and entered the room all the way, the door sliding shut behind him. "I guess. I'm not really sure what happened in the first place."

"Looks like you worked yourself into exhaustion." Yami draped the towel over the chair by his desk. "How long were you in the gym, anyway?"

"A couple hours, I guess. I don't think that's the problem, though." Yugi snagged the chair, dropped the towel on the floor and swung the chair around to sit backwards, his arms resting over the back of the chair.

Yami aimed a pointed glance at the towel, and shook his head when Yugi ignored him. "What was the problem? There something you're not telling me here?"

"Sorta, yeah. Something kinda happened while I was at the mall yesterday."

Yami walked to his closet and grabbed a pair of shoes. "What kind of something?" He paused and examined Yugi with a steady gaze. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean…" He growled, exasperated at his own inarticulateness. "I was leaving the Mall when I accidentally bumped into this lady. Only when I turned around to apologize it wasn't a lady, it was - it was something _else_. Something gross, Yami, like nothing I've seen before. And I can't even explain it because as far as I know I'm the only one who _saw_ it." He shook his head and spread his hands. "No one else even blinked. I'm standing there, wondering if I've got enough breath left to scream, and they all just keep on walking like there's nothing wrong."

Yami sat at the edge of the bed, facing his aibou. "Yugi, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you were pretty out of it yesterday. Is it possible it was just a hallucination?"

"I though of that myself," Yugi admitted shakily. "But I was feeling fine all day. It wasn't until after I saw that thing that I started feeling wrong."

"Wrong how?" Yami demanded. One hand urged Yugi's head up as Wildwing visually checked him over, searching for signs of illness or injury. Yugi suffered the examination in patience, secretly enjoying being fussed over and knowing Yami needed to fuss every now and then.

"I don't know. I was tired. I could barely think straight. By the time you found me it was like everything just refused to work the way I told it to. I- It scared the hell out of me and I don't even know _why_." Yugi stopped himself for a minute, not likely the beseeching tone his voice had taken. For a moment neither said anything as Yugi collected his thoughts. "I've seen some pretty bad nothing like this. Okay," he said angrily, "what I saw was one ugly son of a bitch, but so what? Why the hell did I freak out like that?"

"You want us to find out?" Yami asked softly.

Yugi took a deep breath. "Yeah, yeah, I do. I want to know what happened yesterday, what it was I saw."

"Then we will," Yami said simply. "Now come on. I bet you haven't had breakfast yet, have you? You know, you're not going to do yourself any favors if you pass out again." With a look of amused tolerance, Yugi allowed himself to be pulled from the room. Things were going to get fixed now. He could stop worrying for a while.

****

Despite Yami's assurance and the others' intentions to find out exactly what it was that had happened that day, they found nothing. As weeks passed, the event gradually faded from memory.

Seto and Joey were watching the security camera monitors.

The two men were involved in a heated discussion, comparing the various assets of Racheal McAdams and Megan Fox when the intercom signaled a visitor. Seto broke away from the discussion with a final comment about Joey's bad taste in women, and checked the monitors. "Looks like we have some visitors," he commented. Joey leaned over his shoulder. "Who is it?"

Seto frowned. "Looks like salesmen."

"Or Jehovah's Witnesses," Joey said with a devilish grin. "Can we drop water balloons on them?"

"Joey," Tanya threatened. "Stay here and watch the monitors, would you? I'll go see what they want."

Joey nodded and settled back in his chair, glad Seto had volunteered to handle the visitors. Joey was not in the best mood to deal with salesmen, or whatever they were.

He turned his attention to the other monitors, more or less ignoring the new arrivals, convinced Seto had the matter in hand. Almost accidentally he glanced at the monitor covering the front entrance. There was no one there. 'He handled that quickly,' Joey thought. He yelled out the door. "Hey, Seto, who was at the door?"

Silence.

"Seto?"

Still no reply.

With quick, sure movements, he issued the security commands to the rest of the mansion and began the lock down. They couldn't afford to let anything into the mansion.

He heard a scream, and everything changed.

On one of the monitors he saw Duke laying on the floor, crimson spreading across the floor beneath him. There was no sign of anyone around him. Joey began to feel seriously threatened. "Oh, hell. They took out Duke already? I didn't see a thing." The idea that something had already taken out Seto and Duke was horrifying.

"They took him by surprise," Joey told himself firmly. "Both of them. That's all."

But if Seto and Duke were already out of the picture… Yugi wasn't here. And if Joey remained secured in the Security Room then that would leave Yami,Tea and Tristan alone.

"Damnit," Joey cursed.

Using the monitors, he checked the hallway outside the Security Room, then unlocked the stood with his back against the wall, listening.

Nothing but silence.

But not for long.

AuthorsNote: ooooo cliffhanger! And a bad one at that, lol well anyways next update soon! Promise!R&R!


	4. Chapter 4

___________  
**Chapter 4**  
___________

Yami was halfway through the sixth chapter of The Valley of Fear when he had a feeling that something was really wrong.

He palmed the door open and stepped out of his room and into the hallway quickly. The hall was empty. He broke into a slow jog, heading toward the Living Room. He approached a corner and slowed, listening for the sounds of footsteps approaching from the other direction. He didn't hear anything and was about to go around when a woman jumped out from behind the corner.

Yami froze. The woman was a bit on the short side, slim, with blond hair and dark eyes. Physically, she should present no threat to him, especially since she was unarmed. So why did he have the nasty feeling that this was going to be very, _very,_ bad? The woman sniffed the air, then lowered to the ground until she was crouched on all fours. Yami watched warily, confused by her actions. Was she actually growling at him? _Great,_ he thought dismally, _we've been invaded by an escapee from the psycho ward. _

"Which one are you?"

"Excuse me?" Yami replied as courteously as he could under the circumstances.

"Which one are you?" She bared her teeth at him. "Your name!."

The growl deepened and her eyes flashed. "Your name!" Her voice was thunderous, and not at all feminine.

Deciding it really couldn't do any harm, he told her. "Yami."

"Yami?" she repeated.

She slowly began to approach.

"Huh-uh," Yami said firmly. "No way. Back up."

"Where is the other one?"

"Other one?" Yami echoed. He was beginning to feel like the damn giant hamburger at the fast food drive up window, forever repeating things, and was getting very fed up with being out of the loop. "What other one?"

"The one like you," she replied. Her voice was back to the way it had first been, soft, feminine, human. "I've met him before. He saw me, and I knew he would be a threat to us. It took us much time and effort to realize a way into your house. In the end, it turned out much easier than we had planned." She smiled up at him, appearing more dangerous now than she had with all her growling and hissing. "We have learned that you do not see us as he does."

"See you?" Yami repeated, a horrified realization settling into the pit of his stomach. His conversation with Yugi from weeks before ran through his mind in the seconds it took the woman to make her next statement.

"We did not find him here. We questioned the others," she added, almost as an afterthought, "but they either did not know, or won't say. We had chosen to wait here for his return when I sensed you." She stretched, like a cat about to pounce, and Yami took an involuntary step back. "You are similar, yet not the same. Your scent was enough to catch my attention. Where is the one like you?"

"I haven't got a clue what you're talking about."

With a ferocious screech, she lunged at him. She crashed into him, slamming him to the floor. "Where is he?!" she screeched in his face. "You know! Tell me and I will spare you!"

"No way," he growled. .

Yami was able to shove her away. He rolled away from her and stood quickly, seeing her already standing a few feet away. "I am willing to be merciful," she spat at him, "but even I have my limits. I know your type. You are like these humans. Weak. You allow yourself to be swayed by your emotions instead of by the call of survival." The look in her eyes as she gazed at him was both contempt and disgust. "You seek to protect your friend for what? He is smaller, younger, weaker. Your survival will do more to aid the prosperity of the group than his. You are not a threat to us. Give him to us and I will allow you to live."

Yami laughed in her face. "You're threatening my friends. I am now very much a threat to you."

The woman made a gesture that almost could have been a shrug. "Your weakness will destroy you."

"So be it."

She grinned at him, and for the first time, Yami realized that she had fangs.

"So be it."

****

Yugi was halfway through a tournament round of Space Mashers. His eyes widened, ignoring the victory cheer from his opponent as Yugi's ship was blown to pieces by the alien mothercraft.

Seth appeared at his shoulder. "Man, why'd you duck out like that? You were winning!"

"Trouble," Yugi said tersely. "Something's wrong. The others need me. I gotta get outta here."

After years of being friends, Seth knew how to react. "You left your bike outside my store. Come on, I'll drive."

Yugi didn't object, instead he followed his friend through the thickly packed arcade. "We need to get to the house," he told Seth as the raced out of the building and into the warm spring air. Seth's car was the usual ten-years-old-works-good-enough-even-if-it-does-look-like-a-school-science-experiment-in-rust-formation that was pretty much the usual for teenagers. It didn't look like much, but it got him where he was going. Most of the time. Seth put most of his paychecks into repairing the engine, and as a result, it worked a lot better than you'd expect. As they neared the car, Yugi took the keys that Seth silently held out, and jumped into the driver's seat. Seth had barely closed the door on the passenger's side when Yugi hit the gas and took off.

Yugi didn't glance at Seth, keeping his attention on the road instead. He skimmed through yellow stoplights at the last second, took corners as fast as he could without skidding out of control, and generally broke almost every traffic law in the books. Seth's occasional shouts of "Look out!" and "Cops!" and "Natasha's gonna be _pissed_ if you get us killed!" were an oddly appropriate backdrop. If he hadn't been worried about what was going on back at the house, Yugi might have been enjoying the ride.

It took less than fifteen minutes to get to the house and Yugi cursed himself the entire second of the way for leaving his bike at the shop. On the bike he could have cut the time in half - but the shop was in the other direction and would have taken more time than it was worth to go get it. He'd done all he could. He just had to pray that whatever it was, it wasn't too serious, and that the others were still holding their own. He pulled to a screeching stop just outside the main entrance and jumped out of the car. "Get out of here," he told Seth. "And if you don't hear from me in the next hour, give the cops a call. They'll know what to do. Now go."

Seth slid over into the driver's seat and put the car in gear. "Be careful," he called out the window as he started off.

Yugi watched him go until he was sure he wouldn't encounter any trouble, then turned to the house. The main entrance was wide open, which boded poorly for what he would find inside. Fifteen minutes was a long time. Anything could happen, but as long as the mansion remained under their control, it should have been sealed up tight.

There was a pain in his stomach. If the entire house had fallen…His friends had fallen.

"Yami…"

AuthorsNote:..


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5  
_________**

As he made his way through the hallways and corridors he found only silence and destruction. Every room he passed looked as if it had been systematically torn to shreds: furniture overturned, cushions ripped, the stuffing spread across the floor; glasses and dishes shattered into a million glittering pieces, making his footsteps crunch as he walked; papers were torn and ripped into shreds. It looked like someone had intentionally and purposefully tried to destroy everything they owned. It made Yugi's heart ache and he hoped that whoever had done this, they hadn't found their way to their private quarters downstairs. Furniture could be replaced - rather easily considering how much they made off games and promotions - but his room held photos, letters, knickknacks and souvenirs; a hundred things dear to him that couldn't be replaced. And the people they reminded him of couldn't be, either.

_Come on, Yami. Where are you?_

He headed straight for the Security Room, knowing that if any of his teammates were still standing, they'd be there, trying to use the security system to keep things under control. Though, from what he'd seen so far, the security systems hadn't done much good. Hadn't even been triggered. God, what _happened?_ How did the attackers get inside without triggering the system?

The Security Room was locked from the inside and as silent as a tomb.

Yugi paused outside the door, hesitating for an instant. He checked around the corner of each end of the hallway, keeping an eye out behind him. His instincts didn't say he was being watched, but there was no sense in taking chances. Finally, convinced that he was alone, he punched his password into the panel beside the door. He stepped to the side, bracing himself against the wall to one side of the door as the light flashed from red to blue.

Nothing happened. No one came charging at him. He heaved a sigh of relief and stepped through the door.

What he saw froze his blood in his veins, and caught his breath in his throat. "No. _Nononononono_."

The room was in the same state of disarray as the rest of the house, but that was nothing compared to the scene that Yugi found himself staring at. One wall along the far side of the room was dripping red with blood, and Yugi could see the words they formed. As if someone had been cut open, and their blood used to write the macabre message.

_**We know you little one. You know us. No more disguises**__._

Yugi staggered out of the room and locked the door securely shut behind him before resting with his back against the wall, his heart pounding and his stomach churning. "Great Mother… God, what the hell happened here?" _There was so much blood._ He shuddered and slowly slid down the wall until he could rest his head against his knees. "Where are you guys? What happened?"

A fierce shaking seized him and he held himself still until it passed. "Not now," he whispered. "Forget it. You don't have the time for this. Just get up and start looking. For all you know one of your friends is bleeding to death while you sit here and act like a baby." That thought was sufficient to scare him into action. He pushed himself to his feet and he turned to face the door once again. He didn't want to go in there and face that horrible message again, but he had to. With the monitors he could determine in seconds what a manual search would take as much as an hour to tell him. "Just do it," he said mockingly, triggering the door open once again.

This time he avoided the far wall, seeing the red, but not enough to see the words it made. He made his way to the monitors and immediately started up a search for lifesigns. The smell of blood was overwhelming, and he silently urged the machine to work faster.

Forty two seconds after he'd walked into the room for the second time, he had his answer. No life signs in the building.

Then he couldn't take it any more and he ran from the room.

****

Brandon Pearson flicked the ashes off his cigarette and raised one hand to shade his eyes from the sun. He hated this part. Telling someone about the batmen was always harder than the actual fighting. Maybe because he could see the terror and fear in their eyes as they realized that they could never be safe again, that they had been hunted for years without ever knowing it. Maybe it was because it brought back memories of how he learned, and the price he had paid for that knowledge.

Maybe he just didn't like being stared at like some kind of idiot.

With a sigh, he dropped his cigarette to the ground, crushing it beneath the toe of his sneaker. Any second now…

As if on cue the boy burst through the doors of the mansion staggering out into the sun-filled driveway and dropping to his knees, his arms wrapped around his stomach. Brandon closed his eyes sadly, knowing what the boy must have found inside. He'd seen it dozens of times, and would see it dozens more; the pain of losing your entire family at once.

Slowly he started forward, crossing the driveway until he stood only a few feet from the boy huddled into himself. He made no move to disguise his approach, but the boy never once looked up.

He stood there for a long moment, willing to allow the poor kid a few minutes to try and get a grip of what had happened. He wished he could make it better, or at least give the kid some privacy, but right now that just wouldn't be a good idea. Not while the batmen were still around and hunting. Not while the kid was vulnerable. He needed protection right now, and Brandon was the only one who could give it to him.

After several long moments, he finally glanced up, blue eyes skewering Brandon with all the weight of the emotions behind them. The boy was still strong enough to be resilient, then. At least he didn't seem in any hurry to die. "Hey, kid."

"Don't call me kid." The head lifted defiantly, eyes never leaving Brandon's. "Who are you?"

"My name is Brandon Pearson. I'm here to help you."

His expression clearly showed what he thought of that and Brandon winced. Not the trusting sort, was he? "I was sent to protect you."

"Protect me?" he repeated hollowly. "Where the hell were you twenty minutes ago?"

"With you." Brandon sighed and wished for a cigarette. "We knew they'd go after you, so we thought as long as you were under our protection you'd be fine. It was probably foolish of us not to realize they'd go after your friends once they realized we were on to them."

"Who, exactly, are 'we?' "That was the clincher. How to explain himself? Brandon still had trouble finding a way to make his story believable. Best start with the boy himself. "You can see them, can't you?"

The boy stiffened, and the already wary eyes became guarded. "See who?"

"Not who. What." Brandon grimaced and squatted down, bracing his arms against his knees. "Ugly SOBs. Look like something out of a late night sci-fi thriller."

"I don't know what you're talking about.""Yes you do," Brandon said knowingly, realizing he was probably pissing the kid off to no end, but not caring. They had to get out of here fast, and that meant getting this poor kid to believe him _now_. "Those of us cursed with the ability to see them, call them batmen."

"See them?" If nothing else the kid looked willing to hear the rest of his story.

"Yeah. And it's a pretty sight, isn't it?" Brandon looked around nervously. "Listen, kid-"

"Call me Yugi."

"Yugi. We have to get out of here now. The batmen went after your friends to get at you and they're not going to stop at this. We have to get you out of here to someplace you'll be safe. At least until you know the whole story and can make your own decision about where you go next." Brandon stood and held out a hand to Yugi.

Yugi hesitated, then stood, accepting the hand Brandon offered. "They took my friends. I have to find them."

Brandon hesitated but knew he had to say it. "Yugi, batmen don't take prisoners."

"I haven't seen their bodies yet. I won't give up until I do."

Stubborn _and_ defiant. One and the same, in this case. "All right. Come with me. We'll get you looked at, checked over. We'll tell you about the batmen. And then I'll help you find your friends. I promise."

Yugi nodded his agreement of the deal and Brandon started walking, indicating for Yugi to follow him. "My car's over here." It took a moment for the realization that Yugi wasn't following to sink in, and when it did he turned. The boy stood still, staring into the distance, a look on his face that Brandon didn't quite understand and really didn't like. "Yugi? What is it?"

A frown flickered across the young face, then was gone, replaced an expression of concentration so intense it was intimidating. "It… Those… Batmen. They're here."

"Shit," Brandon breathed. "Where? I don't see anyone." He swept the property with a quick gaze, seeing no one, and nothing to hide behind.

He only shook his head and backed up a step, his every move guarded and wary. "Let's just get to your car, all right? I don't feel so great right now. I don't want to deal with these things. Not… now." He shivered.

"All right." Brandon cast one last nervous glance around him, then wrapped a steady hand around Yugi's arm. "Let's get out of here, kid, before they get tired of watching and decide to do something."

He met Brandon's eyes, looking tired and scared, and nodded. "I want the whole story."

"You'll get it," Brandon promised.

Yugi started moving, walking toward the car while still keeping his eyes open for trouble. "Then I want to know how to kill these things."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

AuthorsNote: I explain the book "_The Ten O'clock People"_by Stephen King, with more detail in this chapter,so incase you wanted to know more about the book its in the chapter. :)

**Chapter 6  
__________**

The room was dark and silent, lit only by the soft glow of the computer on the desk. The windows were shut and bolted, thick curtains covering them until not a sliver of light made it through into the room. The computer provided enough light to navigate by, but that was all. At the desk, Alanna Luis sat hunched forward, her elbows resting on the table as she stared at the flashing lights of the screensaver. She was was a knock on the door. Her eyes flickered to it, but other than that she showed no indication of hearing. "Enter."

A middle-aged man stepped into the room. "Pearson's back. He brought the kid with him." He didn't say anything more than that. They both knew what it meant.

"I'll be right there."

He nodded and stepped back out of the room, closing the door lightly behind him. Alanna fixed her eyes on the screensaver once again before abruptly standing. She reached for her coat where it lay across the back of the chair and shrugged it on, suddenly cold. Casting one wistful stare at the darkened window she slowly made her way across the room. Time to meet the newbie.

Pearson and the boy sat in a small waiting room, Pearson calm and sympathetic, the kid tired and scared and angry. He looked like he was fighting with his own mind, probably remembering things he'd be better off forgetting. "Brandon." He smiled at her slightly, then turned his gaze back to the boy. Alanna followed his gaze, examining the person she'd seen only in pictures before this. The information they had on him was vague, the typical famous celebrity press release stuff. Nothing more than a name and an age - he was supposedly nineteen, but to look at him Alanna would swear that was a tactful lie - and some trivia information. He was about 5 feet, with tri-coloured hair and violet eyes and a kind of look about him that made her think he smiled a lot. Now, as he sat in the chair before her, arms folded tight across his stomach, eyes hooded and wary, and so very haunted, he looked very much alone. Alanna felt a flash of pity for him; he looked like a child who's just been told that Santa Claus was dead. Or worse. Deciding to bite the bullet and get it over with, she stepped up to him and held out a hand. "Yugi Motto? My name is Alanna Luis."

He looked up and accepted the hand, shaking it because it was expected, not because he was particularly pleased to meet her. She refused to take offense, after all, under the circumstances she wasn't all that happy to meet him either. "We have quite a bit to tell you."

The story they told was fantastic; how a small group of smokers had slowly come to realize that they were able to see what they eventually came to call the batmen. They all fit a certain pattern: men and women who'd tried to quit, then slowly started to return to smoking. How they'd begun to search each other out and discovered that they weren't crazy, that what they saw was real. And, most importantly, how they'd realized that the batmen were a danger.

"People disappeared," Brandon said quietly. "I'd notice every now and then, that someone at the bank would be acting strangely, then suddenly be gone. How the number of missing children, domestic abuses, rapes, assaults, and homicides climbed drastically. It seemed like a plague of society at first, like humanity was sending itself straight to hell."

"It wasn't until after I began seeing them," Alanna continued, "that I put the batmen together with all the horrible things that were happening. But it wasn't until I was fourteen, and I saw a batman in a policeman's uniform leaning over the body of a dead little girl that it _really_ sank in. He saw me, and that's when I started running. I've been running for the last fifteen years."

"The batmen in Boston were subtle," Brandon said quietly. "As subtle as batmen get. There was nothing obvious, no public displays like there are in some other cities. I thought my friend Duke- another one of us - was crazy when he tried to tell me about them. It wasn't until a meeting of the Ten o'Clock people that night that I saw the total brutality that they were capable of. Probably half the Ten o'Clock people in Boston were there that night. Our de facto leader had gathered us together to announce a truce between us and the batmen." His expression was bitter as he toyed with the cigarette in his right hand. "They slaughtered everyone in the room except myself and two others.

"The three of us escaped Boston alive, and started running. We'd meet up with others like us and warn them of what had happened, help them fight. After a couple years there became a full-fledged underground resistance against the batmen, comprised almost solely of ten o'clock people.

"Almost?" Yugi asked.

"There are others. People who believe what we see." Brandon shrugged. "Some of them join because family members, spouses or loved ones are ten o'clock people and they believe what they say. Others have seen the brutality and are willing to fight it even if they can't see it."

Alanna nodded. "They are the exception though. Ninety-nine per cent of the resistance is made up of the ten o'clock people. There are few others. And _no one_ but the ten o'clock people can see the batmen."

"That's what originally brought you to our attention," Brandon continued. "We were watching the batman you bumped into at the mall and we saw your reaction to it." He watched the boy curiously. "Everything we know about you says you've never smoked a day in your life."

"Not once," Yugi agreed.

Alanna crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "So how do you see them?" she asked coldly.

Yugi threw a disinterested glance in her direction. "Maybe I'm psychic," he scoffed. "Frankly, I think you're both nuts."

Brandon visibly bit back a sigh. "Alanna. Shut up. We're not here to give him the third degree. And kid-"

"Do _not_ call me that again." Yugi bit the words out one by one.

"Yugi," Brandon said hastily, startled by the anger in Yugi's voice. "You know we're telling you the truth." Seeing the increasing skepticism in the boys eyes he relented. "You know the batmen are real at least."

"I know I saw something. Once. That doesn't prove much," Yugi said flatly. "For all I know I got a little too much sun that day."

Alanna stood abruptly. "Then how do you explain what happened to your friends?"

"That's a good question," Yugi pierced her with a hard, steady gaze. "Any suggestions?"

"If we can prove it to you," Brandon said softly. "If we can show you another batman and prove they're real, will you believe us then?"

With a slow nod, Yugi agreed. "If you can show them to me."

Brandon reached for the door. "Should be easy enough. Grab your coat, ki- Yugi. Were going to City Hall."

"Brandon!" Alanna sounded shocked. The older man just shrugged. "We may need him as much as he needs us, Alanna. If this is what it takes to get him on our side, then it's not all that much to ask, is it?" He stepped out the door and looked back at her. "You coming?"

****

Less than two hours later, Yugi was convinced.

They'd entered City Hall with the cover story of wanting to build an addition onto the mansion, with Brandon and Alanna acting as lawyers working for Yugi. They were shunted from one city employee to another until they struck gold.

Just like at the mansion, Yugi sensed it before he saw it. They were standing at a counter, waiting for someone to wait on them when he felt a tingling, like spiders running up the back of his neck, and he tensed up. The batman approached them, dressed in a business suit and wearing wire rimmed glasses. Beyond that… Yugi tried not to gag at the impression of wet, twisting intestines. He held himself while Brandon and Alanna asked a few questions and excused themselves. "Convinced?" Brandon asked as they walked away.

"I am," Yugi returned quietly. He clenched his left fist absently, resisting the urge to check his watch. Two precious hours had been lost, hours in which his friends were prisoners of these _batmen,_ but it had been necessary. Too much was at risk for him to take these two strangers at their word. Especially such an unbelievable word as all this. But now he knew that it wasn't some random hallucination. "We'll go into whether I believe the rest of it or not later, but I'm convinced the batmen are real."

Alanna looked around her, more than slightly worried as they stepped out of the courthouse. "We need to get you off the streets. If they went after you in your own home, the entire population must know about you. That one in there probably knew exactly who you were the second it saw you. They'll be after us as soon as we're out of a public place. Let's head back to headquarters."

Yugi smiled grimly. "I'm going after my friends."

Alanna's tone was flat refusal. "You must be joking. They'll kill you. I won't allow it."

"It would defeat both our purposes if you made me fight you," Yugi replied sharply as they reached Brandon's car. "I told Brandon and I'll tell you. There is no way I'm leaving my friends there. Now that I know what's going on-" he paused and looked behind him warily. "They're coming."

"How can you know that?" Alanna asked, looking around the parking lot. "I don't see any."

"I don't know," Yugi said slowly, he felt the batmen coming closer. "I don't know how I can see them at all. Just get in the car." He pulled his door open and ducked inside closing it behind him and seeing Brandon and Alanna do the same. Brandon pushed the key in the ignition and started the engine.

The prickling sensation on the back of Yugi's neck grew as he scanned the parking lot, trying to see where the batman - batmen - would be approaching from. Then he spotted it - a mass of brown skin and tentacles inside a pair of jeans and t-shirt. And on the other side of the lot, another one, wearing a sundress. "They're here!"

Brandon looked up for one moment and cursed. "Hold on-" There was an echoing thud and the top of the car caved in slightly. "Oh, fu-"

"_Drive!_" Alanna shouted. "Get us out of here!"

Brandon threw the car into gear and slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, sending the car shooting forward and out of the lot, leaving the other two batmen behind. The one on top of the car held on tenaciously, pounding at the roof, causing it to cave in slowly but surely directly over Yugi's head. He slid down in his seat. There was a brief moment of silence, then another fierce slam, and this time claws showed through the roof of the car.

Alanna watched in alarm. "This is wrong!" she insisted. "They're never this bold in public!"

"Tell it that!" Yugi shouted.

Brandon sent the car into an abrupt turn, nearly going up on two wheels. "There's a gun in the glove compartment. Get it out and give it to Alanna."

Doing his best to ignore another brutal attack on the thin metal roof, Yugi leaned forward and unlatched the glove compartment, finding a revolver inside and carefully handing it over the seat to Alanna. She took it and clicked off the safety. "Get down, Yugi."

"I'm as down as I'm getting without going through the floor," he replied tersely. Alanna took aim and fired three shots through the roof of the car. Yugi flinched as he heard an enraged scream from above, but the batman remained where it was. Another harsh pounding, and another sight of sharp claws.

"Any ideas on how to lose this thing?" Yugi asked, pressing farther down into his seat and picking up a gun from under the seat. "I mean, you _can_ hurt them, right? They're not immortal or anything."

"Believe me," Brandon said grimly. "They can die."

"Good." In one fluid move, Yugi pushed himself up and out the window. He heard Alanna shout as he gripped the edge of the roof and held himself half in/half out of the car. The batman took one look at him and screamed, lashing out with the same claws that had just pierced the roof of the car. Forcing himself not to flinch, Yugi aimed and fired. The shot hit the batman head on at point blank range throwing it backwards and off the car, but at the last minute it gripped the side of the car and held on. With a curse, Yugi slid back inside - just in time for his ears to ring with the thundering report as Alanna fired the revolver. The batman fell away from the car and throw the rear window, Yugi saw it hit the ground and roll, only to jump back up and chase after the car. He held his breath, but the car was moving too quickly and the batman fell behind. With a heavy sigh, he slumped in his seat and closed his eyes, one hand pressed against a sudden ache in his stomach.

"Still want to take these things on yourself?" Alanna asked quietly.

"No," Yugi replied, equally quietly. "But I have to."

TBC....


	7. Chapter 7

__________  
**Chapter 7  
__________**

"You know," Yugi said suddenly, "I don't think you ever told me why you call yourselves the ten o'clock people."

Alanna looked up at him with an expression of disbelief. "You think of this _now?!_" she hissed.

The three of them lay in the high grass outside a small farmhouse on the outskirts of a small town called Orange Grove, which, as far as Yugi could tell, had neither oranges, nor groves, but did have three bars and a motel that would be far better suited as an experimental breeding ground for roaches. Human _or_ insect variety. The farmhouse, only about ten meters away, was where they suspected Yugi's friends to be. With luck by the end of the night, his friends would be back in the mansion where they belonged. He firmly refused to think about any other alternative.

Brandon leaned over. "Ten o'clock is when most smokers take their coffee breaks and catch a quick morning smoke," he whispered, almost silently. "It's a stupid nickname.I came up with once, and it sorta stuck."

Yugi nodded, curiosity satisfied, and turned his full attention back to the farmhouse.

It had taken a lot of talking before Alanna had consented to let him go after his friends, and Yugi knew that the main reason she'd given in was the knowledge that technically, there was no real way she could stop him. He'd gambled on the idea that she'd rather keep him in sight rather than let him run off on his own, even if it meant taking on a group of prepared batmen. He'd gambled right, and now he was only a few meters away from the location his friends were being held in. Yugi resolutely pushed that thought out of his mind, refusing to give it any weight. His friends were in there. They _had_ to be. _You hear that, Yami?_

Words smeared in fresh blood on the Security Room wall danced through his mind.

"What do we do from here?" Yugi demanded. "We've got this place as cased as it's going to get - we've been watching them coming and going for god knows how long."

Alanna shook her head. "We don't dare make a move until we know every detail for sure." She checked her watch. "And we certainly don't attack this place without sufficient backup. The three of us are not going to be able to deal with the number of batmen in there."

"It's been almost twenty hours," Yugi grated. "Do you know what could have happened to them in twenty hours?"

"Yes," Alanna said flatly. "Want me to spell it out for you?"

He gave her a cold glance. "I don't think that'll be necessary, thank you, Ms. Luis. My point is, we can't afford to sit around waiting to see what happens."

"We can't afford to die, either," she said, turning back to the farmhouse. "We wait till our back-up gets here."It was the same conversation they'd had three times already in the twenty minutes since they arrived in Orange Grove. Every time, Yugi tried to urge the two Ten o' Clock People into moving in, or at least letting him go in alone, and each time Alanna refused to move until their back-up arrived. Back-up, taking the form of nearly thirty armed men and women, Ten o' Clock People, each and every one of them, was late arriving.

Alanna was getting nervous. She wasn't showing it much, but she was. Brandon looked like he really needed a cigarette.

Yugi had the horrible suspicion that back-up wasn't going to be coming.

And something else...He'd noticed it after the run in with the batmen at City Hall, on the way home, when they were all trying to breathe and calm down. It was a burning in his gut, one that had been there for a while, but he hadn't really paid much attention to -- it could have been anything: stress, fear, anxiety... he had a ton of each pressing down on him. Now it was taking everything he had to stay focused on the house and the batmen going in and out of it, and not the pain in his abdomen. He felt as if something sharp was tearing into him with every movement he made. Even breathing was beginning to hurt. He honestly didn't know if he could go into battle like this. _I have to though... Alanna's back-up isn't coming. I don't know how I know, but I do. _He shuddered slightly, rubbing his stomach gently. _Something's wrong. Something's really wrong here._

"They know we're coming."

Alanna and Brandon looked at him like he was crazy. "They know me..." he said slowly. "The message at the mansion basically said I couldn't hide from them anymore. And you're back-up is running how late? Almost half an hour now. They knew we were coming. They let me get close, and took out the back-up." He shook a little. "They 're waiting. It doesn't matter if we go in now or later. We could march in the front door with tubas if we wanted to and it wouldn't make any difference. They already know we're here."

"You're getting paranoid," Alanna said dismissively, but Yugi saw her gaze flicker to meet Brandon's for an instant. "There's no way they could know we're here."

"They've done it before..." Brandon said softly.

Alanna shook her head. "There've been traitors, sure, who've given away our plans, our positions before, but no one knew about this mission. We didn't even know until just before we left."

"Someone in the back-up, maybe?" Brandon pushed. "They had a bit more time to get ready. It would've been easy to grab a phone and make a call."

"My people are trustworthy!"

"We all think that until someone turns!"

"Shut up!" Yugi hissed. "I never said someone turned on us, just that they knew _I_ was here." He hesitated. "I sense them, right? You two say you can see them, but I can feel them coming before they're ever in sight. What if they can sense me, too?"

"There's no support for that," Alanna said softly. "They've never shown any sort of psychic abilities before."

"If they could, we'd all be dead," Brandon said flatly.

"So maybe they don't sense me. But they sure as hell know we're coming tonight."

Alanna bit her lip. "He's right about one thing, Brandon. Our back-up isn't coming. It's almost a half hour since they were supposed to be here."

"Pray they got a flat tire," Brandon murmured.

"We have to back down," Alanna said, her expression one of resignation. "There's no way we can go in there if they're expecting us."

Yugi's fist clenched so tightly he could feel his nails cutting into his palms. "I'm not leaving my friends," he said. "I keep saying this and you guys keep not getting it. I'm _not_ leaving them. I don't care if they know I'm coming. It doesn't matter in the long run because I'm still going in there."

"I can't allow it," Alanna objected. "It's too dangerous. They'll kill you the second you set foot inside that house."

"Yugi," Brandon said sympathetically, "the odds that they've kept your friends alive this long... The batmen don't take prisoners."

"From everything I've heard, they don't leave calling cards, either," Yugi shot back, "and that's exactly what that message back at the mansion was." The burning in his stomach flared in remembrance and he gritted his teeth. "I know they're alive. I'd know if they weren't. If _he_ weren't..." The pain soothed itself for a moment. Yugi would know if Yami was dead. There was no way he couldn't know.

He met Alanna and Brandon's gaze. "I won't leave them. I don't care if you turn back -- I don't blame you if you do -- but I can't." Before either one of them could say a word, he pushed himself up and took off running toward the stayed in the shadows, avoided any patches of light falling from the open windows, but the fact remained that the house was in the middle of an open area, and it was a clear night with a bright crescent moon. If anyone looked out the window at just the right moment, they'd see him. Assuming they didn't already know he was there.

He reached the farmhouse in just a few moments. Pausing for a moment, he leaned against the side of the building, catching his breath and willing the stabbing pain in his gut to subside. Running hadn't necessarily made it worse, but he was more aware of it then ever. He gritted his teeth and willed it to the back of his mind. He heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see Alanna and Brandon moving stealthily toward him. Alanna graced him with a fierce glare. "You're hurting," she said accusingly. "When the hell did that happen?"

Yugi shrugged, not avoiding the question, but because he honestly didn't know. "It's not going to interfere."

"You can't see the look on your face," Alanna scoffed.

"It's too late to turn back now," Brandon said flatly. He surveyed them both quickly. Yugi knew what he was seeing. Alanna, dark hair pulled away from her face, wearing jeans and a long sleeved black t-shirt. Yugi knew there were five different weapons hidden on her. She looked young in the moonlight, like the kid she'd never really been. Yugi himself, wearing his usual school uniform, half hunched over in pain, and probably looking like death warmed over for more than one reason. Brandon, for his part, looked like Yugi expected a commando to look -- tired, grouchy and grizzled. Brandon was armed to the teeth as well.

Brandon just shook his head. "If we're going to do this, we better do it." He spared Yugi a brief glance. "Time's running out."

"If it hasn't already," Alanna muttered under her breath. "All right. We go in the front door, fast and quiet." She grinned darkly. "If they're expecting us, we can at least make ourselves a little unpredictable."

Yugi grinned at her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8  
___________**

They made their way to the front of the house, a single line of shadows in the moonlight. Alanna led the way, taking the porch steps two at a time and crouching beside the front door. Yugi took a position on the other side, while Brandon pulled his gun from a shoulder holster, and flashed three fingers at them, then two, then one. He pulled the screen door open and rushed inside, weapon at the ready. Alanna, then Yugi, followed him in, ready for anything.

They found an empty foyer.

Alanna made a face and gestured them on ahead.

They moved silently down the foyer, checking each room as they came to it. After they checked each room, they looked for the basement or cellar entrance. Yugi realized just how little he knew about these batmen. Did they have the technological knowledge to have a setup like they did at the mansion? He frowned, trying to concentrate, but the pain in his stomach was combining with the fluttering static crowding the back of his mind - static that he recognized in some inate way as his perception of dozens of the batmen, surrounding them - and making it hard to think.

Alanna drew up close. "Start looking for stairs," she whispered, so softly he could barely hear her. "Some way downstairs."

"That won't be necessary."

Yugi jumped and the three of them turned as one, weapons aimed and ready.

A batman, wearing the form of a young woman stood down the foyer. Yugi recognized her instantly. It was the same batman that he'd seen outside the Mall several weeks ago; back when it had all started. The human form smiled at him, while the batman beneath grimaced in a horrible show of teeth. "It's good to see you again, little one. We'd hoped you would accept our invitation."

"Not much of an invitation," Yugi replied harshly. She waved one hand dismissively. "We each have our own way of doing things. Now, do you want to know why we asked you here?"

Yugi nodded slowly. "What's this all about?" he asked warily.

"You, of course. It's all about you." She stepped forward. "You saw me that day, when you shouldn't have been able to. None of your other friends can see us - we've tested them, but they never react to us as anything other than human beings." She smiled slightly. "They are unhappy with us, but they do not show any sign of seeing us as you or Mr. Pearson and Ms. Luis do." Behind him, Alanna and Brandon reacted to that statement. She grinned at them. "As you can understand, we were most interested in discovering what it was about you in particular that allowed you to see us. You do no suffer from the so-called Ten o' Clock People's particular vice. If it is an ability that developed independently, then we must learn what it is. Therefore, we had to find a way to bring you to us. You understand, of course?"

"I'm here. What do you want now?" Yugi asked. She pointed past him to Alanna and Luis. "We will allow your two companions safe passage out of the city if you agree to remain here."

"Like hell," Alanna spat.

"My friends?" Yugi pressed.

The batman regarded him seriously. "All but one will be returned."

"All but one?" Yugi asked seriously.

"The one like you. Your guardian. He will remain."

"Forget it."

"You will be buying the safety of the other four friends," she reminded him. "Not to mentioned these two."

"And all I have to do," Yugi scoffed, "is sell my soul and Yami's along with it."

She laughed. "Nothing so dramatic. We need to know why it is you can see us, little one. And if any of your friends are going to gain the ability, your guardian is the most likely. If he can't see us, he's safe. After all, if he can't tell the difference between us and any other human, what threat could he pose?"

"And me?" Yugi prodded."You... are another story entirely." The gaze she leveled on him was intense. "You're more of a threat than these Ten o' Clock People. You have more power and influence than normal humans. You could prove a formidable opponent to us, now that you've been warned of our existence."

"In other words," Yugi said quietly. "I don't leave here alive."

She shrugged. "Not necessarily. Odds are you'll be kept alive until we discover why you can see us, and whether any of your friends are likely to develop the same ability."

That sounded even worse to Yugi, but the alternative... "All right."

"Why am I not surprised?" Alanna sighed. "Yugi, don't be an idiot. Do you have any idea what they'll do to you?"

"Tear me inside out and fuck me over?" Yugi replied calmly. "Yeah, I have a pretty good idea. Exactly what they'll do to my friends if I don't go along with this."

"They may already be dead."

"They're alive," the batman interjected. "My word on it."

"Show me," Yugi demanded. "Where are they?"

The batman stepped back. "Follow me."

"So what should we call you?" Yugi asked conversationally, forcing his nervousness down as he started down the hallway, ignoring Alanna and Brandon's objections. "If I'm going to be stuck with you for a while, it'll be nice having something to call you besides 'the slimy bag of intestines.'"

Alanna choked.

The batman didn't blink. "Amongst humans, I'm known as Helen Guthrie. Feel free to call me that."

"Helen," Yugi said experimentally. "Pretty name. Doesn't suit you at all."

Helen chuckled. "Spirited, aren't you? These next few months should be interesting." She led them into one of the rooms off the foyer, and through another door at the back of the room. Stairs descended down into darkness. "This way."

The stairs stopped at another door, one with a keypad beside it. Helen keyed in a code - Yugi heard six beeps - and the door swung open inward. Helen stepped in and to the side. "I'm sure you'd like to speak with them privately to discuss the situation."

Yugi nodded. "Alanna, Brandon, you stay here." He stepped forward into the room. "Yugi," Brandon called after him. "Think about what you're doing!"

It was a sub-level, Yugi realized quickly. The basement itself disappeared into shadows not more than a few feet beyond the foot of the steps. A corridor had been dug into the wall at the far end of the basement. It was the only other exit he could see. He didn't pause before entering.

Two batmen stood a few feet further in, one hiding behind the form of an elderly man, the other appearing on the surface to be a woman in her thirties. The old man started down the hall, clearly intending for Yugi to follow him. He did, the second batman falling into step behind him.

The ache in his stomach chose that moment to flare with a new burst of pain. He wasn't able to fight back a wince, as he brought one hand up to press against his abdomen tightly. It _hurt._

Neither of the batmen seemed to notice, and if they did, they didn't seem to care. The leader simply came to a stop a few meters further along, and reached out to hit a keypad on the wall. A section of the wall slid away and led into a dark room. "Your friends are here," the woman spoke from behind him. "You may see them. When you've made your decision, simply press the comm panel on the inside wall and we'll let you out."

The room was dark and slightly colder than the corridor had been. Yugi ran a hand threw his hair, wincing as the movement caused the pain in his stomach to start complaining again. Behind him, the door slid closed, leaving what looked like a seamless wall. _Definitely more technologically advanced than us humans._ He took another step into the room, and waited for his eyes to adjust.

It was his friends, all six of them, more or less in one piece. They all appeared to be asleep - Tea and Tristan were curled up in the far corner, Duke and Joey were leaning against the wall to Yugi's right, and Seto sat braced against the far wall, head back. Yami was laying on his back on the floor beside Seto, covered with Seto's white trenchcoat. Yugi opened his mouth to call out to them, when the pain burst into a new level of agony, forcing the breath from his lungs and very nearly driving him to his knees. He stumbled, his hands pressed tight against his stomach, and forced the breath back into his lungs. Seto stirred slightly, but didn't awaken.

Breathing harshly, Yugi steadied himself, and took another step into the room. His eyes scanned each of his friends before settling on Yami. His unmoving, pale, friend.

The pain flared again, and Yugi had a sudden horrifying realization of where the blood in the Security Room had come from.

He walked forward, past Joey and Duke, ignoring the stirring the others made as they slowly woke and became aware of his presence, until he came to Yami's side and slowly sank to his knees. Reaching out, he pulled the coat back. He shuddered as he saw the blood-soaked bandages wrapped around Yami's abdomen -- in exactly the same place as the pain that had been plaguing Yugi since his friends disappeared. "Yami..." He closed his eyes and gripped Yami's hand tightly in one of his own.

"Yugi?" the others were on their feet now and Tea came to kneel beside him. "How did you get here? Are you all right?"

He nodded, not tearing his eyes away from Yami. "I'm all right. The rest... it's a long story, Tea. Just follow my lead, all right? There's no time to explain what's going on." He squeezed Yami's hand tightly, hoping Yami could sense that he was there, then released it and stood, none too steadily, and walked back to the entrance. They comm panel was just where the batman had said it would be, and he pressed it.

The wall slid open, and the two batmen stood there. "You've made your decision?" the first one asked.

Yugi nodded. "Yeah." He turned to his friends. "Don't trust them. Not for a second. If a chance comes to get away, take it." He swallowed. "There are two other people out there, Alanna Luis and Brandon Pearson. They'll help you. All right?"

"Yugi, what's going on here?" Joey demanded.

He shook his head. "Sorry to get you all mixed up in this."

"_Yugi__!_"

The second batman, the one in the form of a woman, stepped forward. "Come with us," she said calmly. "Now."

"Do it," Yugi whispered. "Go."

"What the _hell_ is going on?" Seto demanded.

"Yugi-" Tea started.

"_Go_." Yugi grated. "Hurry. Before they change their minds. Leave Yami to me." He waved at them sharply. "Hurry. Follow them."

They hesitated for a long moment, until Joey caught Yugi's eye. He watched him for a long moment, until he saw what he needed to and nodded once, sadly. "You'll be all right, Yug?"

Yugi nodded once, not trusting himself to do more than that.

Joey looked torn, but he nodded, once. "You know what you're doing?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Let's go, guys. Follow our hosts."

"But, Yugi-" Seto objected. "And Yami. He shouldn't be moved."

"He'll be all right," Yugi promised. "I'll take care of him. Gotta trust me on this one." He swallowed. "And you gotta get out of here before they change their minds. Get out of here and forget any of it ever happened."

Tea was frowning. "We can't be doing what I think we're doing!"

"Yes we are," Joey said harshly. He didn't look any happier with it. "And we're doing it now, before it's all hopeless." He gestured sharply. "Come on. He bought us this much, we have to take it. Otherwise, it'll be meaningless."

_Thank you, Joey..._

Tea seemed to slump and she looked away.

"We're not going to forget this," Joey said softly. "Not a chance in hell."

"Pretend?" Yugi pleaded softly.

"I'll see you again. You hear me? If I find out you've bailed on us..." Joey didn't finish, but he did pull Yugi into a quick hug. "These friends of yours will tell us what the hell this has been all about? Why you're doing this?"

"Something like that, I suppose. Who knows? They seem like a strange bunch." Yugi tried out his usual cocky grin. "I hope they drive you as crazy as they drove me."

"You take care of Yami, huh? He's gonna need to be strong enough to kill me when he finds out I let you do this."

"I'm really not giving you much choice here, Joey," Yugi grinned. "Yeah," Joey scoffed. "Like _he'll_ see it that way."

"Get outta here," Yugi repeated. "Before they change their minds." _Or I do._ _I don't want to do this..._

Joey seemed to realize it. "All right." He squeezed Joey's shoulder. "I won't forget this, Yug."

The batmen ushered them out the door and it slid back into place behind them.

Yugi closed his eyes, then turned back to Yami.

AuthorsNote: ooooo what will happen next? I think the next chapter will be the last, I don't know yet  
any way R&R!!!! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Joey remained silent as they were ushered down a corridor, into a basement type area, up some stairs and finally into a living room. Tea walked at his side, grim and silent, while Seto,Tristan and Duke followed a few paces behind, sorrowful and stoic, respectively. Three more people waited in the living room - two women and a man.

The older of the two women, a fairly young blond women in a business casual suit, stood near the doorway. A good distance away, and watching her warily, was the second woman, this one dark, and dressed in jeans and a black shirt, and the man, who appeared to be in his early forties. There was a tangible air of tension in the room. These were not people who got along well at all. In fact, judging by the number of hidden weapons Joey could spot on the three, he doubted they got along with pretty much anyone.

They looked up as Joey and the rest entered - the blond smiling, the other two looking furious. "I take it the little one agreed to our trade?" the blond asked calmly. The old man who'd escorted them nodded once briefly. "Excellent." She turned to Joey. "Mr. Wheeler, I trust you and your friends will be able to find your way home. Our business is now concluded."

Joey shook his head. "Wait a minute!" he objected. "This isn't over! Not even close! We're not leaving until you bring Yugi and Yami up here!"

"I'm afraid that wasn't part of the deal," she said calmly. "Now, it's time for you to go." She turned an nodded to the two humans. "Ms. Luis, Mr. Pearson-"_The ones Yugi mentioned?_"-thank you for bringing our little one here. I guarantee you, you will be able to leave unharmed." Her expression hardened briefly. "I suggest you do so immediately. As I've said already. Our business is concluded.

Joey's expression hardened. _Bringing him here? _Had these two led Yugi into this trap?

The dark-haired woman, Luis, the other woman had called her, took a step forward, her expression angry, but the man caught her arm and gripped it so tightly that she winced. "Listen, Guthrie, or whoever the hell you are, this isn't over."

"I sincerely doubt that it is," she said smoothly. "Now, if you please..." she raised a hand and gestured toward the doorway. "Mr. Wheeler, I do apologize for the inconvenience we've caused you and your group. You are free to go any time you please. I doubt we'll see one another again."

"What about our friends?" Joey asked softly. "Do they get the same deal?"

"Mr. Motto and I have come to a separate agreement," Guthrie said smoothly. "It is between he and I. It no longer concerns you."

"But-"

"Our need for you has ended," Guthrie said flatly. "Leave now before we decide it would be far simpler to eliminate you. It is only your celebrity that has kept you alive this long, but that is a hindrance that can be worked around. The door is that way. I am sure you are all competent enough to take advantage of what remains of my generosity."

Pearson slowly backed toward the doorway, pulling Luis along with him. He gave Joey a considering look, then tilted his head to the side, his expression encouraging the blonde to come as well. "I won't let this lie, Guthrie. That boy was under my protection."

"And you did an excellent job of keeping him safe. He looks to be in nearly perfect condition. Goodbye, Mr. Pearson."

"We're going with him," Joey said quietly. "Come on, guys. We can't do anything if she kills us, and Yugi and Yami won't have anyone to come back for them."

Tea looked ready to rebel, but only gritted her teeth, looked away and nodded once. Tristan and Duke were watching him with an expression of sadness; they were sure that they were leaving Yami and Yugi behind to die, they could tell. Seto, for his part, was giving Joey an understanding look, but behind that there was anger, a rare emotion in Seto. _He must feel as helpless as I do._ It was no consolation.

He forced himself to move, to take that first step to join Pearson and Luis in the doorway. Each step got slowly easier, until the next thing he knew, he was outside, standing in knee-high grass and looking back at the illuminated little farmhouse that had been their prison for the last day.

Pearson had taken a hand-held radio from his pocket and was standing off to one side, quietly trying to raise someone named Cam. Luis stood with her hands clenched, her face a mask of anger. "Who are you?" Joey asked tiredly.

"I'm Alanna Luis. He's Brandon Pearson," she jerked a thumb over her shoulder at her partner. "And you probably don't believe this, but we are on your side."

Tea snorted. "I'll believe that when I believe pigs can fly. That woman in there said you brought Yugi to her."

"We did," Pearson said sadly, looking over to them for a moment. "We were assigned to protect him, and instead we let him walk directly into their hands."

"We tried to stop him," Alanna objected, but her voice held no real strength behind it. "We tried to talk him out of it, we showed him how dangerous they were, explained that they almost never take prisoners. We tried to get him to stay out of this. He didn't listen. Just took off on his own when we said we wouldn't go, forced us to follow him in. We tried, Brandon. Damn kid just wouldn't listen."

"Yeah," Duke said. "That sounds like him all right."

"The batmen would have gotten him eventually, even if we'd locked him up and sat on him for good measure," Alanna continued. "You heard her in there, Brandon. She knew more than she should have."

"Batmen?" Joey echoed as Brandon nodded grimly.

"Our entire organization is at risk," Brandon said seriously. "And this isn't going to help."

"They know our names, they know we're Ten o'Clock," Alanna said tightly. "There has to be a traitor. There's no other way."

"Ten o'Clock?" Joey repeated. "What is this?"

Brandon shook his head and looked away. Alanna shrugged and slowly started walking again, away from the farmhouse and toward the road. "It's a long story, Mr. Wheeler. If you want to hear it – if you're really sure you want to become a part of all this – come with us. We'll explain it all once we get back to HQ."

Joey gave the others a quick glance, saw the silent agreement in each of their eyes. "We're in."

Behind them, he heard Brandon laugh shortly. "Getting in's the easy part," the man said. "It's getting out again that people have problems with."


	10. Chapter 10

**AuthorsNote:**The Last Chapter !!!! didn't think I'd make it this far, lol. Well Enjoy as always!!

___________  
**Chapter 10**

No one knew exactly when it began, Alanna explained, but it was at least the last ten or fifteen years. At _least_.

"They're called the batmen. That's what we call them anyway." Alanna sat back in the thickly padded chair of the private Amtrak compartment they were taking back to Domino City. "There have been other names for them, from different resistance groups in different parts of the world, but batmen seems to be the one that sticks the most.

"In the beginning they were the oddity. Who knows where the first one came from, how it got here or what it did – back then, in the beginning, any talk of batmen was ignored as the ravings of lunatics and the mentally handicapped. It wasn't until the late 1980s that anyone started listening.

"The only ones who can see the batmen are people like Brandon and me," she gestured vaguely between the two of them. "We call ourselves the Ten o'Clock people – it's something Brandon came up with. You can ask him what it means later. The long and short of it is, we're all smokers."

Tea and Joey exchanged a confused glance, not seeing what this had to do with anything. Alanna noticed and smiled. "It'll start making sense soon," she told them. "Or not. Depends on how open-minded you are." She settled back again. "Ten o'Clockers all have the same thing in common – we're all serious smokers who reformed, more-or-less, to part-time smokers. The batmen, now... they're something else entirely. No one really knows what they are, or where they came from. To be honest, we don't know if they even look like what we see them as."

"They look normal enough to me," Joey said. "They were stronger than I'd expect, especially that one old man they had guarding us, but aside from that..."

"You don't see what we see," Alanna told him. "When we see a batman we see... rotting flesh, intestines, tentacles. Skin that moves on top of the bones. As if a corpse had been turned inside out." She shrugged. "That's not entirely accurate. There are some real poets in the Ten o'Clock People, one of them can describe it better if you want. The point is, while everyone else in the world sees a normal human being, we see something more than that. If we look, some of us can still see the human being the batman is pretending to be, but for most of us, once we reach the point where we gain the ability to see them, that's all we see.

"They're dangerous, as you probably figured out for yourselves. They're strong, and intelligent and very, very cruel. Violent and bloodthirsty. It probably took everything they had to let us leave with all our internal organs still in place. The common theory is that they're aliens, come here to take over from the inside out. All the batmen are in positions of power – you'd have a heart attack is you knew some of the people they'd gotten to. Or the people they _are_. That's something else we don't know. These people who appear as batmen, are they people who were taken over by the batmen entities? Or are they the batmen themselves? Was Helen Guthrie ever a real woman, a real human? Was she taken over by aliens? Or did she start out the way we all do, then become something else, something so horrible that the only way my mind can translate it is as a mass of twisting flesh?" Alanna smiled grimly at their horrified faces. "You see our problem."

"What do you do?" Seto asked. "You Ten o'Clock People. What do you do?"

"We fight them," Alanna said simply. "However we can. Mostly, we watch and try to understand what it is they're doing. We stop them from killing whenever we can, we try to undo what damage they do. It will take a lot to stop them entirely, though," she added softly. "They're growing in number, and the Ten o'Clock People aren't. We're being killed off. Slowly, but surely."

"The batmen?" Tea asked.

"Yes," Alanna confirmed. "And anti-smoking sentiment contributes to it as well. Fewer new smokers, fewer people who eventually become one of us. Once we're gone, who will be left that can watch them, fight them?"

"How are you sure that they're dangerous?" Joey pressed. "I mean, so they look like death warmed over. That's not reason enough to hunt them down."

"When you've seen one of them murder a little girl and eat her corpse," Alanna said harshly, "it becomes easier to understand why they have to be stopped. They kill without mercy and without concern."

"Eat?" Seto echoed.

"Someone has to notice if it's as bad as you say," Tea objected.

"Of course. Everyone notices. What you don't understand is that the batmen are in positions of power. Politicians. Bankers. Lawyers. Scientists. These things have insinuated themselves into our society to the point where it's almost impossible not to notice the effect they've been having. Take a look at the news sometime and you'll see their mark. But they're the ones who control the ways things work – they control the law, the economy, the government. Maybe not totally, not yet, but they're getting there. So even if someone notices what'll happen? They'll report it to the batmen. I wonder how many Ten o'Clock People died because they were naive enough to go to the police. How many normal people did the same thing and were found a few days later, floating face down in a lake somewhere?"

"I don't like the way this is sounding," Joey said. "What do we have to do with it?"

"Not you," Brandon spoke up. "The kid. Yugi. He can see them."

"How?" Tristan demanded. "He doesn't smoke! Certainly not enough to have fit the pattern you're talking about."

"We don't know," Alanna said. "Neither does Yugi. Neither do the batmen, and that's how the problem started for you guys. When Yugi ran into one of the batmen a few weeks ago, she realized he saw her, and they realized he may be a threat. They couldn't get him easily – if he could see them coming he could fight back, draw attention to them. So they took you five instead, intending to use you as hostages to his good behavior."

Brandon folded his arms across his chest. "He sacrifices himself to them so they can figure out what makes him tick, and they let you guys go."

"Except Yami," Seto said softly. "Because if any one of us had the same ability Yugi did, it would be Yami. They have the same blood, possibly the same genes. If it was inherited, Yami is the most likely of us all to share it."

"Exactly," Alanna confirmed.

"Where does this leave us?" Tea asked. "We can't abandon them. We have to go back for them."

Joey nodded in agreement, even as Alanna shook her head. "It may be stupid," he said mildly, watching the expression on her face, "but we won't abandon our friends to the kind of beings you're describing."

"You won't stand a chance on your own," Alanna said flatly.

"We've done some pretty tough stuff before," Tea told her.

"These things are deadly. They'll kill you and eat you as soon as look at you."

"We'll give them indigestion," Tea shot back.

Alanna shook her head and gave them a hopeless look. "You don't stand a chance on your own!"

"You don't," Brandon echoed her. "Not on your own."

Joey heard the note in his voice and looked at him. "What are you proposing?"

Alanna frowned. "Brandon..."

"Help us," Brandon said. "You have technology we don't,which could be invaluable in tracking the batmen down. And once we're prepared for it, I swear to you, we'll help you go back for your friends."

"They may not live that long," Alanna said flatly. "Yugi is a threat. And Yami's as good as dead whether he can see them or not – no matter what they promised him, they'll kill anyone who seems a danger to them."

"We'll go in anyway," Joey said. "As long as there's any sort of chance at all that they're still alive. Any."

"Agreed," Brandon said, offering his hand. "Partners?"

Joey took his hand. "Partners."

"We'll get them back," Brandon said solemnly.

"Or we'll take down every batman we can find in vengeance."

**The End.**

AuthorsNote: OK don't get your hopes up, I will most likely not be doing a sequel to this. I am Sorry!!!  
R&R!


End file.
